


something beautiful

by ralf



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Sappy, Sweet, extremely fluffy, it's exactly what you think it is, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 06:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17637458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralf/pseuds/ralf
Summary: Alec has a question to ask.





	something beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> Ten hours later than intended, yay me. I might have to shift my posting-day. And/or miss a few updates. RL is very demanding at the moment. Anyway, enjoy this week's fic!  
> It got way sappier than intended. I blame Magnus. It's also one of my earliest shadowhunters ideas, from before even 2B aired. Lemme know what you think <3 :0

Alec is tense, Magnus can tell. He's been tense since he came home, while cooking and during dinner. It's barely noticeable – he's been attentive when Magnus told him about his day and complained about his more pretentious clients, he shared a story of his own, recreating some of Izzy and Jace's banter... but Magnus knows him by now, knows his tells when something is on his mind. He wonders what it might be that has Alec strung so tightly but he knows better than to try and guess. Alec always surprises him anyway.

They've retired to the balcony, relaxing on the lounge leaning into each other, Magnus with a glass of wine in his hand. Alec had declined, another sign of his simmering agitation. Magnus thinks he'll come out with it any minute now.

He takes a sip of his wine, settling more firmly against Alec, enjoying their peaceful closeness. Alec presses his lips to Magnus's temple aimlessly, breathing him in for a moment, ending with a kiss before pulling away a bit.

“Magnus,” he says, voice betraying nothing. “I want to ask you something.”

Magnus straightens a little, turning to look at him. Alec's brow is furrowed slightly, a sign of his concentration. Magnus is endeared. He magics his glass away so he can give Alec his full attention.

“Go on, then,” he encourages when Alec doesn't continue.

Alec bites his lip, stalling while he gathers himself. “Before I ask I need to say a few things, alright?”

“A few things, huh?” Magnus can't help but tease.

Alec's lips purse in a tiny pout and Magnus knocks their knees together apologetically. Apparently Alec is more nervous than he thought.

“You,” Alec continues, looking at Magnus carefully, “might feel the need to say something, but.. please don't. Because if you interrupt I don't know if I'll manage to go on, but I need to say this. Okay?”

Magnus nods. Silently.

A small smile tugs on the corner of Alec's mouth. “Thank you. Okay.” He lets out a long breath, visibly steeling himself, and a deadly calm settles over him.

This is it, then. Magnus feels his own nerves rising in anticipation.

“I hope you can forgive me for this, I know these things are supposed to be romantic,” Alec opens. “But you also said you appreciate my straightforwardness so I hope that's enough.” He takes Magnus's hand and Magnus is all too happy to lace their fingers together reassuringly.

“We.. never really talked about marriage,” Alec bites his lip. “I think the closest we ever got was when I told you about my engagement to Lydia.”

Magnus squeezes Alec's hand at the unexpected mention of this less than pleasant incident. At the same time his heart starts tripping all over itself as an idea takes root in his chest what Alec's question might be. Still he does his best to keep his rising excitement at bay. Alec asked him to focus, so that's what he'll do.

Alec watches him for a moment and when he doesn't react beyond another light squeeze of his fingers he carries on. “I remember.. you said that marriage was a wonderful institution but that you wouldn't know.” Alec's other hand comes up to cup Magnus's in both of his. “I don't think I could ever forget the way you looked at me and I've been thinking about it for a long time now.”

He breaks eye contact, watching their hands instead, drawing courage from the sight before glancing up at Magnus. “I don't know what marriage means to you. If it's something you wished for, if it's something you were denied, if it's even something that holds any importance to a warlock. To an immortal.” He pauses, looking searchingly at Magnus.

Magnus swallows. He did consider marriage, once. But as time went on he began to realize that maybe it wasn't in the cards for him, not in the way he had always imagined it should be, and he'd let the notion drift fom his mind and his thoughts, choosing not to dwell on  the things he couldn't have and enjoying those he could instead.

He's not sure what of his thoughts shows on his face, but it's enough for Alec to craddle his hand even more reverently between his. “From your reaction I gathered it was a sensitive topic.. and I was scared to broach it.”

He caresses the back of Magnus's hand, brushes the delicate skin of Magnus's wrist where his pulse is fluttering close to the surface, almost bared to Alec's touch.

“I always knew marriage was going to be a part of my future and it terrified me. It was inevitable that I had to settle down with a woman and endure it somehow. And I came so close to doing that.”

Magnus thinks he won't ever forget crashing Alec's wedding, standing at the end of the isle with his heart exposed, not knowing if Alec would send him away.

“It would have been the worst mistake of my life and you saved me from that. You opened me a world of possibilities I never imagined for myself. You changed so much for me and I could never thank you enough for that.”

His eyes are searing into Magnus, burning right into his core and Magnus melts.

“Thank you, Magnus. So much,” Alec says, intently.

Magnus wants to echo the sentiment because Alec changed so much for him, too. Meeting Alexander hadn't only woken up his heart, it had also woken up wistful yearnings he had thought long dead. He'd done his best to keep a lid on them, scared to scare Alec off if he came on too strong too quickly, even if part of his mind whispered to him that Alec wouldn't mind, that Alec felt the same. A few centuries worth of bad memories weren't so easily overcome and so he'd done his best to keep quiet, hiding his intense heart behind easy smiles that Alec kept seeing through anyway.

Alec who saw so much, who cut thought his defenses as if they weren't even there. It should be intimidating, menacing, but Alec's eyes are soft and warm and his hands are tender and strong, his touch careful and healing. Magnus wants nothing more than to rest in his arms and be safe in his heart.

“You also changed my outlook on marriage. With you by my side I started seeing it as something worth striving for, something fulfilling that would brighten my life. As it's supposed to be.”

Warmth settles in Magnus's chest. _Me too_ , he wants to say. _I want it, too._

Alec leans even closer to him. “Before I ask I want you to know that, whatever your answer might be, it won't change anything. It won't change our relationship or my love for you.”

It takes all of Magnus's willpower to remain silent at that, the answering _I love you, too_ burning on his tongue. But he holds it back, remembering Alec's request. He thinks Alec hears it anyway.

“It won't change the way I see you, or anything else. It won't change the fact that what I want most is for you to be happy. I don't want you to feel pressured. I want you to answer in the way that will make you happiest.”

Alec holds his gaze for a moment before he reaches into his pocket, not bothering with subtlety like he rarely does, retrieving a black ring box.

“I don't know if marriage is something you'd want for your happiness. But for me it's just another terrifying prospect in my life that you took and turned into something beautiful. It's a symbol of the change you brought me.”

Alec smiles a private smile. “And you were right. I _am_ a traditional guy. So.”

And he moves, off the couch and down on one knee in front of Magnus, glancing up at him with shining eyes. Magnus's mind is taken back to the first time Alec knelt before him like this, learning about the ugliest part of his past and his soul, meeting it with nothing but acceptance and love. Magnus's throat closes up when he remembers this time and all the others that followed, Alec a calming, steadfast presence at his side, always picking up his pieces and mending him back together with gentle hands and gentler words.

Alec's eyes are full of light when he looks at him and Magnus sees his whole future in him.

“My question...”

Alec lifts the lid of the box, revealing the ring inside.

“Will you marry me?” he asks, a helpless little smile blooming on his face.

Magnus's breath catches. _Yes_ , he wants to say but his voice betrays him. Even though he'd known this was coming, even though he'd dared to dream of this moment for a while now, feeling it is more than imagination could have possibly prepared him for.

Magnus can barely look away from Alec but his gaze is irresistibly drawn to the ring nestled in he dark lining. It's a broad even band of a material that must be magical. It's of a deep blue drifting into dark green like a nebula, splattered with tiny golden sparks. He's not sure but it seems to be moving, ever-changing like the night sky, with a new star flickering to life every now and then.

Without conscious thought he reaches out for the ring and is surprised to find it pleasantly warm to the touch, thrumming with energy and magic.

“What is that?” he asks, mesmerized.

“It's, uh. Cat helped me find a way to fuse magic with angelic power.” Alec grins. “Well, she helped Izzy.”

Magnus belatedly catches sight of small ornate runes engraved on the silvery inside. Strength, love, fortune, and more that he doesn't recognize are curling along the metal.

“You told them about this?”

“No.” Alec shifts slightly. “It's not exactly usual for shadowhunters to propose with a ring so I don't think Izzy suspects anything. And if Cat did she didn't let it show.”

Magnus still can't take his eyes off of the ring. It's captivating. “Can I?”

Alec holds the ring box closer towards him. “It's yours.”

The ring is smooth in his hand, heavy but not too much. He slips it on and it settles perfectly around his left fourth finger. He can feel his own magic stirring, detecting an answering hum from the ring that must be Cat's doing and something else, something foreign but familiar that he identifies as Alec. Soft, warm, unrelenting.

“Do you like it?” Alec asks, eagerness hidden in his voice but not enough for Magnus to miss it.

“I love it. It's beautiful.”

It's the absolute truth. He can't stop staring at the band around his finger, entranced by its beauty and even more by the promise it holds.

Eventually Alec gives a cough. “Soo...” he says slowly and Magnus finally focuses back on Alec.

Who's still kneeling in front of him.

“You didn't actually answer me,” he states when Magnus realizes just that. A small smile is playing on his lips, fond and light... but underneath it there's a sliver of uncertainty.

Magnus lays his hand on Alec's cheek, a familiar touch that Alec leans into without hesitation and Magnus thinks that the ring never looked better than it does settled against Alec's skin.

But he needs to be closer still so he leans in until his brow comes to rest against Alec's.

Alec sighs, a peaceful little breath shared between them.

“As if I could ever say anything but Yes to you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> All the runes Alec put on the inside of the ring: strength, love, fortune, promise, wedded union, joyous, trust, fearless, gift, finding home, loyal to, good luck, destined. You can find them all on the [runes page of the shadowhunters' wiki](http://shadowhunters.wikia.com/wiki/Runes).
> 
> If you stumbled over Alec's statement that shadowhunters usually don't propose with rings, click [here](https://ralfstrashcan.tumblr.com/post/180010340709/shadowhunters-dont-marry-with-rings-at-alec-and) for my explaining headcanon.
> 
> And finally, if you wanna read a cracky proposal drabble, click [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705429/chapters/41771930) ;)


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